Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Maggie of the Suicide Fleet: Margaret Emerson's Copy from Herb Roth

Maggie of the Suicide Fleet (1930) is the story of Maggie, the "pleasure yacht" of "Bromo-Seltzer King" Isaac Emerson, named for his wife Margaret, the recipient of this unique volume. The yacht was enlisted in the American submarine patrol fleet where it was assigned to protect America's coast, yet through a series of misadventures made it as far as the Azores, judging from the cover illustration by Herb Roth. When the book's illustrator dedicated this copy to Margaret Emerson he provided a sketch, very likely a self-portrait, as he describes himself as a coxswain and has drawn what to all appearances is a naval coxswain. When all is said and done, this probably wasn't Margaret's only copy.
Scanned by A Friend of the Blog

Scanned by A Friend of the Blog

Scanned by A Friend of the Blog


Note:  My thanks to A Friend of the Blog for these scans of a fascinating book personalized by Herb Roth, one of The New Yorker's earliest cartoonists and illustrators. This is my friend's sixth contribution here.

It is also the first original work of any kind by Herb Roth to appear on this blog, a real unpublished rarity! I would happily post more of such if any should be forthcoming. In the trade, that it what is known as a hint.


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